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Rushdie visit will pose serious law and order problems: Muslims

Leaders of various Muslim political and religious groups have demanded the cancellation of British author Salman Rushdie's visa and said the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government would be solely responsible for any law and order problem if the controversial writer was allowed to visit India.

''It will not only hurt the feelings of the 150 million Muslim community in the country, but also pose serious law and order problems for the government,'' Syed Ahmed Bukhari, Naib Imam of Jama Masjid said yesterday.

The Muslim leaders also submitted a memorandum to President K R Narayanan on Monday evening urging him to persuade the Vajpayee government to cancel the visa.

Urging the allies in the coalition to press the Bharatiya Janata Party to cancel or withdraw the visa, the Naib Imam warned that a nationwide movement would be organised if the government failed to act.

A consultative conference of Muslim leaders also decided that a new agenda would be prepared and for this purpose an all-India conference may be held to chalk out a programme for the nationwide movement.

UNI

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